Although South Africans celebrate Freedom Day, they are not truly free
26 April 2021
Although South Africans will once again celebrate Freedom Day, they are not truly free. People should not harbour the misconception that being able to vote means that you are free. South Africa is too entangled in corruption, crime, poverty and unemployment to be free.
True freedom is when you have a job, can make a good living, is safe from crime and when the government of the day is responsible and acts in the best interests of the people. In South Africa, however, quite the opposite is true.
When it comes to the Afrikaner, the government's actions can be construed as an attempt to further marginalise this minority group.
Affirmative Action (AA) and Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) are being implemented with increased vigour. Afrikaans is also increasingly being suppressed – the way that Afrikaans is targeted at the University of Stellenbosch, for instance, serves as an example.
There are many people who are unemployed, mainly due to factors like AA, and then Cubans are brought in to fill positions despite this high level of unemployment.
It denies South Africans access to those job opportunities, Afrikaners in particular, because AA has strict legal requirements that discriminate against minorities.
The latest example of this is the situation at the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) where internet service providers could be fined with up to R5 million or 10% of their revenue if they refuse to comply with strict, new rules about black shareholding. (Rapport, 25 April 2021: “Boete van R5m. as hulle nie swart vennote het”)
These new regulations stipulate, among other things, that internet service providers must have at least 30% black ownership and level 4-BBBEE status to obtain a licence.
Against this backdrop, it is clear that the people of South Africa are under the wrong impression if they think that they are free.
Freedom will only be achieved once the government of the day rids itself of corruption, when everyone's differences and rights are recognised, when people are protected against crime, when all institutions respect everyone's language and culture, when AA and BEE are abolished and when everyone has a job so that they can earn a living.
Statement issued by Dr. Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus leader, 26 April 2021
